Image Credit: Sarasota County Sheriff's Office 
A previously-deported illegal alien has been charged with sexual assault of an underage girl whom he relocated from Guatemala to live with him in Florida, authorities say.
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) arrested 28-year-old Jose Luis Martin Perez on Oct. 14 in Venice, a city on the Gulf of America.
In July of 2024, the victim called the Venice Police Department (VPD) to report a sexual battery.
She told VPD she met Martin Perez on Facebook in June of 2018 while she was living in her home country of Guatemala.
In August of 2019, Martin Perez reportedly helped the girl travel from Guatemala to Florida.
Investigators matched the defendant’s address to one used to purchase a plane ticket from Texas to Florida at that time.
The girl says Martin Perez had sexual intercourse with her immediately after she arrived at his home, despite him being 21 years of age and knowing that she was a minor.
The victim told VPD that Martin Perez physically abused her on multiple occasions, “punching her in the face and body.”
She eventually moved to another residence in April of 2024.
Martin Perez was finally apprehended last week and charged with sexual assault of a victim over 12 years of age but under 18.
He is being held without bond in the Sarasota County Jail, which has received a hold request from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“On Oct. 15, 2025, ICE lodged an immigration detainer with the Sarasota County Jail for Jose Luis Perez-Martin, a criminal alien from Guatemala,” the agency told Border Hawk.
“Perez-Martin was encountered following his arrest on a misdemeanor sexual assault charge. The alien was recently removed from the U.S. and will be removed upon being released from local custody.”
Authorities continue to catch dangerous foreign criminals in the U.S.
